BOLD action is still needed to continue addressing the Tories’ failures, the TUC warned today after it emerged that unemployment is at a four-year high.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the unemployment rate remained at 4.7 per cent in the three months to June, the same as the previous quarter and up from 4.2 per cent a year ago.

Job vacancies also shrank by 44,000 over the three months to July to 718,000, reaching the lowest number since April 2021 during the pandemic.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said that years of Tory cuts and underinvestment “have left big challenges in the jobs market – including continued growth in the use of insecure zero-hours contracts.  

“The government is raising national investment, repairing public services, and improving the support people need to get into work. 

“But more is needed. Bold action must continue to match the size of the problems we face. 

“This should include improved support for disabled workers and a comprehensive youth guarantee.” 

Speaking to reporters in Belfast, Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted there is “more to do,” but insisted that Labour has “managed to return stability to the economy.”

“The most important figure today is that there are 384,000 more people in work than when I became chancellor,” she said.

The figures showed an increase in workers on zero-hours contracts, which had risen to 1.17 million, compared with 1.04 million a year ago.

Mr Nowak added: “There are still far too many people trapped on zero-hours contracts, unsure of how much they’ll make from one week to the next. 

“But Tory and Lib Dem lords have been voting to block new rights for workers to a proper contract with regular hours. 

“Working people need the Employment Rights Bill delivered in full.”

The Bill will return to the Commons in September for MPs to consider the Lords’ amendments after peers voted to water down protections against zero-hours contracts.

The legislation originally required employers to offer zero-hours workers a contract covering a guaranteed number of hours, but under the amendment, the responsibility would instead land on staff to ask for such an arrangement.